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WASHINGTON | Nearly 1.8 million U.S. veterans are without health insurance, and more than half of them said they had no place to go when they were sick, researchers reported Tuesday. The finding contradicts many Americans’ assumption that all veterans qualify for free health care through the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The uninsured veterans are primarily low- to middle-income workers, ages 44 to 64, who are too poor to afford private insurance coverage but not poor enough to qualify for Medicaid or VA health care, the Harvard Medical School researchers said.

Analyzing data from two federal surveys, the researchers found that more than one-fourth of the uninsured veterans said they did not get needed medical care or delayed it because of its cost. Nearly half said they had not had an office visit or contact with a health professional in more than a year, and two-thirds said they received no preventive care. (more…)

This week, again the mortgage rates dropped down a little. Experts believe that the main reason behind the fall in the mortgage rates is the market’s concern for the slower economic growth during the next few months. The market is also worried about housing slump and how long the market will continue to suffer because of this. These worries were raised due to the recent report of October, which explains that there is some regional manufacturing weakness.

Last week the average interest rate of 30 Year Fixed Rate Mortgages was 6.40 percent. This fell down to an average of 6.33 percent for this week. Last year at this point of time the average interest rate of 30 Year Fixed Rate Mortgages was 6.40 percent.

This week the average interest rate of 15 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage is 5.99 percent, lower than 6.08 percent of last week. A year ago the average interest rate of 15 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage was 6.10 percent.

This week the interest rate of the 5 Year Treasury indexed hybrid adjustable rate mortgages averaged 6.03 percent, lower than 6.11 percent of last week. Last year at this point of time the average interest rate of 5 Year Treasury indexed hybrid adjustable rate mortgage was 6.14 percent. (more…)

Costs are up. Coverage is down. And politicians don’t agree on the answers. The debate now raging over how much money the federal government should spend to provide basic health insurance for poor children is just an opening skirmish in what is likely to be an all-out war in coming months and years over how to pay for health care in America.

Almost every presidential candidate in both parties has come up with some proposal that promises to control the costs, broaden the availability and upgrade the quality of health care.

Health care is in the spotlight for an array of reasons — a growing proportion of Americans have no health insurance, costs of providing care are rising far faster than the overall rate of inflation, costs to workers of employer-provided insurance are growing while benefits are limited and the costs of coping with catastrophic illness are placing a growing burden on families and communities.

The challenge is finding ways to provide every American with quality affordable health care without dictating how the care will be offered.

Our failure to make progress toward that goal is causing a slow-motion health care crisis that is already threatening the well-being of millions. (more…)

WASHINGTON - The House passed a revised children’s health proposal Thursday, but not by the two-thirds margin that supporters will need if President Bush vetoes the measure as promised.

The 265-142 vote was a victory for Bush and his allies, who urged House Republicans to reject Democrats’ claims that changes to the legislation had met their chief concerns. If the same vote occurs on a veto override attempt, Bush will prevail, as he did earlier this month when he vetoed a similar bill.

Liberal groups continue to run attack ads against Republicans siding with Bush on the issue, which many Democrats consider a winner for their party.

Democratic leaders said changes to the bill, which would add $35 billion to the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, had addressed critics’ concerns about participation by adults, illegal immigrants and families able to afford health insurance. But GOP leaders called the changes insignificant and politically motivated. (more…)

Health insurance, no matter what form it takes, is an essential part of our lives. We might be incapacitated one day, get into an accident, or have to receive flu shots - with the rising costs of medication, will we be able to afford such medical necessities that are fast becoming luxuries?

Before you go buying medical insurance, however, you might want to compare different premium prices and packages offered by different companies. You can access such information by looking for free health insurance quotes online.

There are many different kinds of free health insurance quotes online, depending on the kind of insurance that you need. Individual insurance, or insurance for families, are common online. Such insurance packages will run for the long term, and they will cover a wide variety of treatments. These may include partial coverage for vaccination for your children, or coverage for accidents that you might run into. (more…)

I’ve seen recent college graduates making car loan payments that are so big their bosses couldn’t afford those cars.The true cost of an auto loan isn’t just the monthly payment. It’s also the interest you pay. The interest grows, of course, over time. The longer your loan, the more you pay. I recently was shocked to learn that some people are stretching car loans out for 80 months or 96 months. Paying for a car over eight years? That’s a mini-mortgage.

If you are stuck in an expensive car loan, you can get out of it.

Refinancing car loans has become very easy to do. There’s plenty of competition, and consumers can find some good deals. The interest rates I found on refinanced auto loans were comparable to, and in some cases lower than, new car loans.

But there’s a bit of a trick to this trade. That is, it doesn’t work for all borrowers. And a refinanced auto loan might be a big money-saver in the long run, but those monthly payments won’t drop dramatically.

It all starts with the deal you make when you buy a car. Many people don’t do this well.

“We find that people get disoriented by the new car smell and make a really silly financial decision,” said Allan M. Prindle, president and chief executive officer of Power Financial Credit Union.

They don’t shop around. They don’t look beyond the monthly payment. They get sold something, rather than select the best loan. (more…)

Some of the most significant Congressional activity will take place off the floor of the House and Senate this week as lawmakers begin delicate negotiations over resurrecting the vetoed children’s health insurance bill.

Backers of the bill from both parties will be meeting among themselves and with some Republicans to consider how to tinker with the legislation to either eliminate the objections of President Bush or win enough new Republican support to override a second veto. It’s a complicated situation. Democrats are willing to make some changes to eliminate the chief criticisms of the legislation, but they do not want to go too far in ways tht would either reduce the number of new children to be covered under the measure or be seen as caving to the White House. Republicans are eager to put the politically charged fight behind them and would like to find a way to support the legislation. But they can’t completely surrender their objections or it will seem as if they initially opposed the bill for no good reason.

House Republican leaders have sent clear signals that eliminating the ability of states to enroll children in families earning more than $80,000 would be a good start even though backers of the legislation say the White House now has the power to prevent such an expansion of the coverage. (more…)

Choosing the right health insurance can be a difficult and confusing endeavor. The primer below is designed to give you a basic overview of what to look for in an insurance plan. How to Get Health insurance

If you are fortunate enough to get health insurance through your job, your out-of-pocket costs are most likely deducted from your check. Many companies offer basic coverage including emergency room costs, doctor’s visits, prescriptions, x-rays, lab tests and chiropractic care. Additional health insurance is often available to cover dental, vision and long term conditions. This type of supplemental health insurance will most likely involve additional fees.

If you freelance or are a small business owner, you may need to purchase an individual health insurance policy. This can be accomplished by contacting a health insurance carrier or by contacting an insurance broker. The benefit of using an insurance broker is that a broker is not tied to any one carrier and can provide you with a variety of different rates.

However, a note of caution about choosing an individual health insurance plan-Be sure to check the rating of your company with A.M. Best, which evaluates the fiscal health of various insurance agencies. If the carrier’s rating is less than A, you need to keep searching for other options.

Types of Health insurance

There are two main types of health insurance; fee for service plans and managed care. Under fee for service plans, you will need to submit a claim for each medical cost. You are then reimbursed for each covered expense. (more…)